Page 20 of Babydaddy To Go

“Don’t be late again,” I say, my voice cold and distant. “I won’t be as lenient on you next time.”

“Lenient!” she gasps. “You call embarrassing me in front of the entire classlenient?”

“If you can’t be bothered to show up on time, you can drop the class.”

She gives me a stern look. “I thought I knew you yesterday, but now I see you’re an asshole. I’m glad I learned my lesson early on. Thanks so much,teacher.” Alyssa gathers her bag over her shoulder and stalks towards the door. Without turning to look at me, she adds, “I won’t be late again.”

I watch her go, completely in awe, and wanting to chase after her to bring her back.

I know I can’t, so I don’t, no matter how badly I want to.

7

Alyssa

Monday

What felt like a dream just a few days ago has turned into the worst decision of my life. Why did I come all the way to New York? I’m not cut out for this because yesterday’s criticism has me feeling weak and limp. Nate was harder on me than anyone else in the class. What happened to the sweet, funny guy I met yesterday? Which version of Nate is the real him?

I’m so confused. The first friend I made in New York is a sham. There are a few nice people in my class, but I’m partnered with a girl who hates me even though I did nothing wrong. It’s like I never left high school!

I quickly unlock the door to my apartment so my neighbors don’t see me crying. The trip here was a lot easier than my run to school this morning. I’m going to set more alarms tonight so that I have time to take the subway tomorrow.

My apartment looks exactly the same as it did when I left in a rush earlier today. Has it been less than a day since I missed my alarm, showed up late to class, and got reamed out by the same guy who kissed me passionately last night? It feels like years have passed since then.

As soon as I plop down on the couch, my phone starts to ring. The caller ID flashes my grandmother’s photo on the screen.

The last thing I want is for my grandmother to know how upset I am. She’ll tell me I can come home, and I might just take her up on it.

“Hi Grams,” I answer cheerfully.

“You sound happy!” she exclaims. “I take it your first day went well?”

Thank goodness I’m good at masking my true feelings. “It did. We went over how important it is to use certain equipment for certain things. We even played this game where we had to pick out the proper utensils for cooking specific dishes. I wasn’t expecting class to be so fun.”

Grams laughs. “Doing what you love should always be fun! I’m glad the professor isn’t too stuffy. What celebrity chef did they bring in?”

I force excitement into my voice. “You’ll never believe it! Nathaniel Glover is our teacher!”

“Your favorite chef? What are the chances?”

“I thought the same thing. It’s crazy. He’s just as talented in real life as he is on TV.”

“I should hope!” she says. “I don’t want some faker teaching my granddaughter.”

We both laugh and my heart breaks. Eventually, I’ll have to tell Grams about Nate – Nathaniel – and how he hurt me. For now, I want her to be happy. One of us should be.

“It’s everything I hoped it would be, Grams,” I lie. I’m reaching the end of my fibbing abilities, so I turn to something easier: the truth. “Tomorrow, we’re going to make pasta and alfredo sauce.”

“Oh, girly, your homemade alfredo is the best! You’re going to nail it tomorrow.”

“We’re working on learning how to follow recipes before we start deviating, but I looked at the recipe in the text book and it’s almost the same as mine. I’m really excited!” This is true, too. Even though Nate is being an ass, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s assignment. I’ve been making alfredo sauce since elementary school.

“I’m sure you’ll do great, Alyssa. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Grams. I love you.”

We talk a bit more about what I’ve missed at home in the last twenty-four hours. Gramps jumps on to share the latest gossip. They both act as if it’s been weeks since they last saw me, not a day and a half. I miss them terribly.